MAC of the Month

My Counts

Monday, February 23, 2009

Francois Nars, the founder of NARS cosmetics has finally reveal himself to the fashion world after a 10 year hiatus. He marked his return to the fashion runway by leading the makeup direction for Marc Jacob's Autumn/Winter 2009 show. It included working with 65 models, and creating 65 different makeup looks.

The master himself at work

With inspirations taken from New York night club scene of the 1970s and '80s and the works of Sprouse, St. Laurent, and Halston, Francois Nars took into consideration each model’s individual beauty before creating a separate edgy look, reminiscent of the past but still very modern. “We are doing quite an eclectic look,” he said. The inspiration for diversity came from Nars’ book XRAY. “[Marc] wanted to keep that feeling,” said Nars, “the variety of looks, the same way we do the campaigns for NARS.” Overall, it was important that each girl look beautiful, even with strong theatrical looks. Much like the fashion, Nars emphasized having fun with makeup for the coming year, despite the times we live in- “It’s a good antidote.”

Focusing on an edgy, night clubbing look, strong eyes and bold color were a major theme. Black shadow laid the foundation for creating the dramatic eye, to which the artists added cobalt blues, deep greens, bright purples, reds, fuchsias, and glitter. “There is a wide variety of color,” said Nars, “it’s whatever looks good on the girl.” For many of the models, porcelain skin was a key component, allowing the black eyes and bright colors to pop. “You want to play with makeup,” says Nars, “makeup is a great accessory - that is the message.”

Nars instructed his team to bring their entire kits, with every single shade of eye shadow, lipstick and foundation in the NARS line, which turns 15 this year. “We thought carefully about what look and palette was best for each girl,” he said. “So maybe we gave one a stretched eye, another a round eye, and some have super-strong lips, while others have completely nude ones.”

Never in my life seen so many NARS products, I'm loving it!

There were some constants in the makeup mosh pit, including NARS Cream Eyeshadow in Zardoz ($21 at narscosmetics.com), a luscious, inky shadow used to create statement eyes, and NARS Loose Powder in Snow ($34 at narscosmetics.com), which gave the girls’ skin a porcelain finish. In addition, the team tested two products being introduced next fall: Sheer Matte Foundation (available in September) and Larger Than Life Volumizing and Lengthening Mascara (in stores in October).